#wang film productions

[chalkzoneoutofcontext]

To celebrate ChalkZone’s 21st anniversary, let’s go Snap bowling!

[outofcontext101dalmatians]

[dalt20]

Tooning in 18 Greg Bailey part 6 of 10

DL:So, on Arthur did AKOM do anything off model? Because the studio had a reputation for being off model or lacking in their animation.

GB:I can't remember any series where someone wasn't complaining about a character being off-model from time to time to time. I'm not even sure what that means anymore. In the end, I preferred that something might be off-model a little instead of looking like a cutout of the same model sheet in every frame. At least that gives some character and exaggeration. Generally, I felt Akom was fairly on model though. Though in the 15 years they did the show I'm sure there are lots of off-model freeze frames out on the web. Mostly Akom was great because they moved the character and it wasn't all traceback stuff all the time. When things switched to digital 2D like Flash or Toon Boom it became on model but it looks really dead compared to hand-drawn animation. You are literally looking at the same model sheet position on every frame so it definitely creates significant deadness in the animation compared to hand-drawn where the character seems to almost breathe in comparison.

DL:Ah, ok. So AKOM brung their A game I guess.

GB:I really appreciated the work we got in those early seasons from Akom. Nelson had some respect for the show and he made sure the studio did a good job on the show. We weren't exactly the highest-paying studio that was sending work there but Nelson and also Frank Shinn would put more into the shows that had some integrity to them. If the series was just some generic series they might not have been so attentive. We did a really complete and tight pre production work to send over to Korea so I think they saw that and realized we meant to do a better show than the rest of stuff out there.

DL:So, About the CiNAR scandal, did the feds storm in like The Wolf of Wall Street? With everyone destroying documents and everyone being rounded up?

GB:It's more slo-mo than that, but I guess it wouldn't have made a very exciting movie for things to unravel as slowly as it did. It was so slow that basically, the media was doing all the prosecuting faster than the police. It was more of a legal assault like from the different agencies like Telefilm that were looking to get their funding money back or the archives getting a refund for one reason or another. But yes the RCMP did interview people like writers and regular staff to see if the names matched the documents they had about who did what. I don't remember a lot of destroying documents but I was on the wrong floor to see that, and there wasn't a round-up of the usual suspects where they marched a bunch of people out to a paddy wagon. I don't think anyone got taken out in handcuffs because I would have heard the rumours of that. It was strange to see the media assault and what the public was accusing them of because it wasn't what was happening or what the issue was. There was a very strange perception of it in the public. Even now everyone just says the Cinar scandal but they don't know what it was all about.

DL:So, Did you work on any other projects other than Arthur in the early 2000s post scandal, like Creepschool, Potatoes and Dragons, Treasure, The Baskervilles? Before Michael Hirsh came to CiNAR?

GB:did because I was the supervising director. I supervised the other directors. I didn't have much to do on Creepschool, or Baskervilles. Potatoes and Dragons was all done in France before it came in and it was more of an acquisition for us. I had a great model sheet with like 100 cute characters on it. I did at one point try to re-edit all those shows into a different show so they made more sense and weren't so slow. It looked very cute but it wasn't easy to sell the show. Even on Treasure, I was only brought in occasionally to look at how the show was going or meet with the terrific clients from the UK who created the series. Francois Perrault directed the show. I did start up Postcards From Buster at that time before handing off the series to Nick Vallinakis after a few episodes. During that time I was working on the development of all new series and so I designed the style or look of the show and animation style. We developed a lot of shows. The one that stands out the most was developing Mona the Vampire which Graham Fault did the initial design work on while we were in development. I think Graham did that just before creating the Untalkative Bunny in Ottawa. That was the period of Animal Crackers development and probably even Caillou. A lot of shows that I worked on in development actually made it into a series during that period. A lot of others were involved in it but hopefully, I made some meaningful contribution to it. I am probably mixing up my years there but usually, I was developing a show a few years before it hit the small screen and it was also a really insane time in the studio. After the scandal hit in fact there was not really any more development. We were still finishing off the shows that were developed earlier. Postcards from Buster was

the only series that got developed and greenlit after the scandal and before Michael Hirsch. Postcards was the one series that began under Stuart Snyder (or any of the other interim CEO's) thus fulfilling one of the major terms of Stuart's contract that allowed him to receive his bonus of tens of millions of dollars before he stepped aside.

DL:So, What's your thoughts on the studio who co-produced Animal Crackers, Alphaim? They replaced France Animation as the main co-producers in 1998.

GB:I didn't have much interaction with them. I was founded Christian Davin. I met Christian a few times and he seemed like a nice guy. Gaumont bought them out after that time. The thing that makes it hard for me to answer is that in these co-productions with France there were 2 types of shows. One that the majority partner was in Canada and the other series that the majority partner was in France. So Animal Crackers was a show that we had the lead and we did most of the work. And something like Potatoes and Dragons had the majority in France. So on the ones with majority in France we often only did the post production or maybe some of the production-like layouts. If it was our majority we did most of the work in Canada. It seemed to get more and more like that over time. So I think it is really more of a financing issue or question that you would ask to an executive producer rather than looking for a creative perspective. It wasn't on my radar very much once I knew what the work split was.

PS. Christian Davin was involved with the Robinson Sucro copyright infringement.

DL:Ah, so Thoughts on Wang Film Productions, They animated on season one on the Little Lulu Show.

GB:You mean Cuckoos Nest owned by James Wang. They did a nice job on the animation on season one. We started putting a lot of work into Cuckoo's nest at one point. Like City Mouse Country Mouse was also there. That was the really crazy period at Cinar when we just had so many series going through that studio and the place was growing like crazy. Lulu was a hard show for animation because of that super thick line was all done in traditional animation. But the look of the show was great, especially the first few shows. One thing that is not well known is that initially that show was going to be 5 specials on HBO. Tracy Ullman was doing the voice of Lulu. It was the only time I went to the pitch session that we did in NY at HBO. I only directed those first 5 episodes then supervised the director Louis Piche when the show went into a full series. To be more on topic, I had visited Cuckoo's Nest back in 1986 or so when I was at DIC Tokyo. The Japanese studio was going to visit the studio in Taiwan and they very nicely brought along the foreign staff as well.When they did City Mouse Country Mouse it wasn't so beautiful but I remember they were contracted by Cinar to churn out one episode per week through the animation department. It was usually one episode every 2 weeks at that time. But I don't think the show was well funded and we just needed to make a lot of shows quickly probably to impress the shareholders. So it was an ugly show but I can't blame Cuckoos Nest for that.Wang Productions also did the Richard Scarry series after episode 26. It was far less good than what we had been getting from Hanho on the first 26 shows.

DL:So, The Arthur episode, The Contest. How did you animated the episode in the Three styles of the segments parodying South Park, Beavis and Butthead, Dexter's Laboratory and Hulk Hogan?

GB:And Little Lulu and Richard Scarry but that was more of an in-joke. It's interesting how that episode came together. I think it was one of the best shows overall. The weirdest one at least.The South Park section was actually done under an old Oxberry film camera and shot on film. Peter Huggan who was the layout supervisor at the time made all the models out of felt. He was kind of doing the felt characters in his spare time while checking layouts. Then we rented the one last Oxberry in Montreal and we shot the sequence under the camera. It was just the way we made the films when I was a student at Sheridan College.Beavis and Butthead was just a different drawing style so it took a lot of new design . I really liked how the AC /DC logo on Beavis' shirt made a good change into AB/CD on the Arthurized version. Dexter’s lab again was just a lot of new design. We could not reuse anything from the regular series and that one had a thick line. Also the color design was new and we had lots of references from the real show.The Hulk Hogan was just styled on the many 1980's series I worked on at DIC. In fact I worked a few shows of Hulk Hogan when I first went to Tokyo for DIC.We also did a spoof of Richard Scarry and we had Lowly Huckle were bats hanging upside down. I even got Sonia Ball to do the voice of the bat in the voice she used to do Huckle. There was a Lulu parody there as well using that thick line. I used to worry about getting fired at Cinar for using R. Scarry and Lulu styles in that Arthur show. But I was just banking on that the producers never really watch the shows they are producing. I lost a lot of sleep over that idea but never heard anything from the producers at Cinar. But in general, when we would parody a different style, like we did on that Ulysses episode, it took a lot of new design and being extra careful with the storyboard, and most of all, it was traditional animation so there was no problem with changing style because we didn't have to do rigging in order to animate. The ideas for what to parody just came from suggestions I could make to Joe Fallon and Ken Scarborough about which styles we could do to give us a different look for each sequence. I loved doing all those special style things in various Arthur shows. It was something really nice about the series that we could do parodies. Usually Canadian animation companies do not do parodies in their shows. But because the scripts were produced by WGBH we would do it once their lawyers would sign off. We also based one segment on Dr Katz Psychiatrist but I don't think our squiggle vision animation was very recognizable. That was a cool episode. When Peter was making all the South Park figures no one knew what he was doing and his crew thought he was making dolls on company time like he was losing his marbles.

DL:That's so Funny! 😄

GB:yeah.

DL:So, at Cookie Jar did you work on Gerald McBoingBoing, Johnny Test, Kung Fu Dino Posse, Busytown Mysteries, World of Quest, Will and Dewitt, etc?

GB:No I didn't. Actually I helped out for a very short time on Busytown Mysteries but the other shows I had nothing to do with. That was after they closed down the Montreal studio and opened up in Toronto. I didn't move.

DL:So, I couldn't find anything on the move to Toronto when Michael bought CiNAR can you tell me what time period that was?

GB:It went in stages. In 2005 Michael and Toper and the bank bought Cinar. Renamed it Cookie Jar of all things after Huck Scarry suggested the name. They started closing up the Montreal studio that year by consolidating the 3 floors of office space onto one floor. I developed a few shows then like Bronco Teddy and that Santa Clause special. Then just a small animation crew and 2 producers moved to a new but small building in downtown Montreal . I think it was an old Canada Cement company building from the sign embossed over the front door. It had a lot of marble and brass on the main floor and an ancient elevator. Anyway we were there for a year before they shut down entirely in Montreal, and they opened up a Toronto office in that time. We did Arthur out of that new office in downtown Montreal. So by 2006 or early 2007 they were set up in Toronto on King Street. I remained on the Cookie payroll but no one else from Cinar remained after 2007. In fact I worked at Cinar/Cookie Jar full time from 1991 to 2011. I was the longest running employee of that company.

DL:Wow! So, you were demoted to the Arthur guy at that point?

GB:Yeah pretty much. They would try to keep me busy with stuff during the off-season. I developed a few shows but nothing really stuck and I would get busy again with Arthur so they would take it away from me and give it to another director. Like I was starting on a remake of Caillou and then that happened. Someone else took over the series. Or I helped out a director on Busytown for a few months. I even tried getting the director position on a series with Disney near the end of my time there but I purposely blew my application so I could go elsewhere to do Arthur. The Disney show was very preschool and the producers at Disney were in disarray. It looked like it would be really unpleasant. But yeah I guess all I really did of any significance was Arthur. We did Arthur out of Oasis Animation company in Montreal. They hired some of my old crew from Cinar while I remained on the Cookie Jar payroll. So at one point, I did some work setting up the studio to do the Arthur series.

DL:So, how was the downfall of Cookie Jar/ the DHX media purchase went for you in 2012?

GB:I was there for the downfall like when they laid off all the animation staff and pretty much everyone else. I wasn't there when DHX actually bought them. I was there when CJ bought DIC and that terrible purchase of Strawberry Shortcake. It seemed ironic to me when they bought DIC because I was there when they fell apart 20+ years earlier.The big layoff was very sudden and shocking for the people in Toronto. I don't know why they seemed so surprised. The shows were terrible. They blew a ton of money buying DIC which was even more in debt than after DIC broke up with Charlopin. They said they bought DIC to get the Saturday morning hours that DIC owned. But Saturday morning doesn't mean anything like it did when I was a kid or when I worked at Hanna Barbera. No one gets up to watch animation on Saturday morning anymore. The Strawberry Shortcake scandal was going on at that time but I wasn't paying attention to it. You probably know more than I do. But my view was - who would want to watch anything to do with Strawberry Shortcake. It was the most ugly and trite property when it came out in the 80's and it was even more horrible in the 2000's. But that was CJ's corporate culture. From the top down the company management spewed marketing jargon when they spoke about anything including creative things like animation. They would never make a great new show because they were not trying to make a show that people would want to watch. They were basing decisions on values like branding and marketing. They never spoke of things that drive other producers that try to make something kids enjoy or benefit from in some meaningful way. I understand the sense of trying to capitalize as much as possible on everything in the world, but in a creative field like animation, it's disappointing to see people only equate a good show with good merchandising. They could be happily selling stickers or really tacky toys like Strawberry Shortcake or Elf on the Shelf. They are not patient enough to make a good show first and then sell stuff because the show is popular like SpongeBob. They only want the show made in order to sell the toy.

DL:Well Michael tried to create that workspace mentality from Nelvana. Remember when we talked about the program slate from Nelvana from 1995-1996?

GB:Yes! Nelvana was also a 3 way partnership. Clive Smith was coming from animation production in the UK before they started Nelvana. So there was more push in the direction of the art at one time at Nelvana. This time his partner Toper Taylor was a marketing person. When he speaks it's a lot of marketing jargon.I shouldn't really say that Clive did this or that at Nelvana. I was never working at that studio and I've only met him briefly. Michael has been a great businessman there is no doubt about that.

DL:Yeah, I saw that the only thing that was making money at the studio was Arthur, the Doodlebops and Johnny Test. Everything else was a co-production at the company.At Cookie Jar , that is.

GB:They made a horrible mess out of Richard Scarry and the Caillou properties that had generated a lot of money at Cinar. But the versions they made at CJ were terrible. They were so commercially exploitative looking. It's true that you don't make money just selling the show to broadcasters. At least it's not a big part of the income in TV animation. I'm not sure Arthur was making much money for them either. Eventually, they quit doing it because they either had to make a totally horrible different-looking show or lose money making it. Like there was no toy licensing or books or anything to make money on with Arthur. The Arthur series never had a really high budget compared to other big animated series like WB or Disney or Nickelodeon shows and the amount coming in for production kept getting smaller year by year.

[luckypluckychair]

The Farewell | 2019

Director: Lulu Wang

Production designer: Lee Yong-ok / Set decorator: Joseph Sorelle and Hanrui Wang

[guzhufuren]

clarification on the current situation with Meet You At The Blossom that started yesterday in chinese online spaces and weibo

the show was promised to have both chinese and thai dubbing options on iQIYI (chinese owned drama streaming platform), when the show aired it did not provide option of chinese dub

official weibo account of the show was wiped clean some time after the premiere, actors deleted everything related to the show from their weibo accounts (thai production company Big Superstar's twitter and instagram, thai/chinese distribution company ARTOP MEDIA, actors and series director's instagrams are normal and have everything in place)

the situation itself, told by a chinese fan who is a part of the fanclub (?) and the show's weibo group below. interaction between op (chinese speaking twitter user) who recommended the show to their followers, second person (chinese speaking twitter user) who replied asking if it's really a show made by China, op replying it's only a Taiwan and Thailand collab, third person (the weibo fan from China, new account) corrected and explained what is happening, all on the tweets below:

(Lele = Li Le, Xiaokai = Wang Yunkai, main actors of the show)

it will probably not affect the continuation of airing of the show (assumption)

chinese dub might be cancelled and the show might only air in thai dub from now (assumption)

you do not need to stop watching the show, many people tried very hard to make it happen, made loopholes to get it to air and risked a lot, hoping for an end product that will be well and widely received

if you want do something (you don't have to though), you can leave supportive comments under youtube episodes or cast/filming crew's posts on instagram, tell what you liked about their work and the show, they are very thankful to receive this and often answer to fans

* note that i myself do not speak chinese and do not go on weibo often, and gathered this information with a friend who does speak chinese and frequents weibo, who also notified me about the situation today, translations of the tweets are automatic twitter translated, accounts in the screenshots who were talking might be biased or emotional

[wlwcatalogue]

Chinese GL Webseries & Shorts for the Wuxia-Uninclined

Have you ever wanted to venture into the world of Chinese GL webseries and short films, only to find yourself at a loss about where to begin, or intimidated by the unfamiliar tropes and terms of the wuxia genre?

Well, worry no more! Here's a selection of non-wuxia webseries and short films curated by yours truly. Now you too can enjoy the lavish costumes and location shoots of these Chinese productions, so rarely seen in F/F works outside of feature films and the occasional TV series~

By the way, these are all translated and subbed by the inimitable Douqi (@douqi7s), whose immense contribution to the English-language baihe fandom is surely in breach of anti-monopoly laws. Offer up your thanks at her Tumblr and Twitter!

At-a-glance list

Webseries:

Ye-Mu Season 2 (1 hr 20m total, 2023) - standalone

The Vampires (41m total, 2022)

Ye-Mu Season 1 (27m total, 2022) - standalone

The Lost World (1hr 5m total, 2023)

Short films - order corresponding to the pictures above:

A Tale of Yearning (5 mins, 2022)

"She Brought Colour Into My World" (2.5 mins, 2023)

"I'm Her Weapon" (3 mins, 2022)

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord (6 mins, 2023)

Women's Script (5 mins, 2023)

The Caged Canary (5 mins, 2023)

The Beauty of the Law (6 mins, 2023)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither (9 mins, 2022)

Commentary under the cut!

FYI, I've opted to link directly to the subtitled versions since they're probably more difficult to find than regular anime, TV series, movies etc. If a link is broken, please refer to Douqi's blog directly.

Important note for the uninitiated:

It’s a bit difficult to talk about canonicity in relation to live-action works made in the PRC, as things which would normally be used as evidence of canonicity all fall under the censorship regulations— explicit references to romantic relationships or queerness, declarations of love, kissing etc. are all off the table. So while these may not look canon in the most traditional sense, they are intended to be read as such and should certainly not be dismissed as queerbaiting or yuribait. Also, the creators can get very imaginative, so this is less of a problem than you may think – see the entries on Ye-Mu Season 2 and The Lost World in particular!

1. Ye-Mu Season 2 / 叶穆 2 (32 episodes / 1hr 20m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Despite the name, Ye-Mu Season 2 is completely unrelated to the first season; the only thing the two share is the cast, crew, and focus on Penthouse-style melodrama.)

Determined to take revenge for her mother's death, Xu Baiqing (Sheng Wei) marries a wealthy and much older businessman in the hope of finding evidence to put him behind bars. But first she must assuage the suspicions of his cheerily hostile second daughter, moody youngest son, and estranged eldest daughter (Ye-Mu Zhixia, played by Wang Laoji), the latter of whom Xu Baiqing dated in university and who is currently seething at the sight of her former girlfriend marrying her father...

If you want to get a sense of the potential breadth of Chinese GL webseries, this is a pretty good place to start. It does a decent job of matching the tone and presentation of a melodrama you might catch on TV (and in fact looks higher-budget than some I can think of), while committing to something that can’t be done on TV yet— namely, featuring an F/F exes-to-stepmother storyline and delivering on the drama inherent in such a premise. Of particular note is how the framing and behaviour of Ye-Mu Zhixia is very much consistent with that of a male romantic lead; thanks to some clever writing, it’s basically impossible to deny the nature of her relationship with the main character. They don’t even lean on the plausible deniability afforded by the label of “friendship”— in fact, in an early scene she is incensed when the protagonist refers to her as “[her] only friend”. There are a few caveats – the main character ends up in a lot of scrapes that her ex-girlfriend has to save her from, the reveals are often rather unsurprising, and the story shifts more to a mystery focus around halfway – but it’s still worth checking out if a Korean-style melodrama with an F/F take on a romantic storyline sounds appealing.

 (CW: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault)

Note: See The Lost World (below), from the same creative team, for an even more impressive example of Chinese GL pushing the limits of censorship.

Links: MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

2. The Vampires / 吸血鬼鬼盲盒 (7 episodes / 41m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the first 15 minutes or so, because otherwise the summary would be “They end up locked inside with the monsters on board”, which wouldn’t tell you much more than the title already does)

Every night, Tianyue (Ye Miao/夜喵) has been having dreams about the mysterious cruise ship docked at the pier. Convinced that there is treasure hidden inside, she and her exorcist-cultivator girlfriend Xiao Ling (Wei Miao/微渺) sneak on board only to find that they are trapped there until the sun comes up. Things don’t seem too bad at first: although they run into two vampires – the cute, cheeky Xingming (Yang Fuyu) and her elegant mistress Su Tanya (Sheng Wei) – they are able to call a truce, on the condition that the humans help search the ship for the latter’s beloved (Fu Cha, played by Wang Laoji). But when Fu Cha wakes up without her memories, it is clear that something is terribly wrong, and that the ship and its inhabitants harbour more secrets than expected.

For a webseries, The Vampires takes a while to get started— it’s a bit difficult to tell what kind of story or indeed what kind of tone it’s going for just based on the somewhat campy and comedic first section. But after that wobbly beginning, it manages to pull itself together to tell a compelling – and sometimes genuinely tense – tale about a motley band of humans and vampires, and the truths they have to face together. While the ending is no happily-ever-after, I found it satisfying and hopeful, and surprisingly affecting. Also, a bunch of the characters have real polyam energy, and this is reflected in the narrative beyond mere flirting!

(CW: abusive parents)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation) / YouTube (compilation)

3. Ye-Mu Season 1 / 叶穆 (12 episodes / 27m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Ye-Mu Seasons 1 and 2 are standalone stories; each season is entirely self-contained and the second season is not a continuation of the first.)

The head of the Ye-Mu family has died, leaving the next generation to squabble over the inheritance. It's a web of secrets, lies, and hidden resentments, as the characters dig out old grievances and fresh accusations in a desperate attempt to one-up each other. They're tangled up together to an almost incestuous degree, and indeed, the F/F subtext here is the ambiguous relationship between eldest daughter Ye-Mu Nanzhu (Sheng Wei) and second daughter Ye-Mu Nanmo (Wang Laoji) (rest assured that they are at least not biologically related).

Those who prefer darker stories and don't mind the pseudo-incest or other content warnings will find a melodrama which makes good use of its short runtime to deliver on twists, turns, and an explosive - if tragic - conclusion. That being said, the story is about the family drama in general, so do note that while the relationship between Nanzhu and Nanmo is narratively important, it is not fleshed out in great detail and certainly not the focus of the series.

(CW: suicide, ableist trope (spoiler – disabled character turns out to have been faking it), ableist language)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

4. The Lost World / 夏夜知道风的甜 (1hr 5m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the purpose of flagging triggering content, as it’s particularly easy to trip into for this show. Also, some vague spoilers for later episodes in order to highlight in order to highlight the themes etc.)

This webseries feels like two shows smushed into one: apart from the very beginning, the first half is a gritty, bullying-focused take on university life, while the second is a true-blue romantic comedy (aside from one blip – see the note below for details). But even if you’re wary of the bullying, I would still recommend watching the back half – which is basically standalone – as it’s a very funny and heartfelt story about two childhood friends finally getting their act together. Without further ado, here’s two blurbs!

From episode 1 onwards: After saving a classmate from the class bully, popular college student Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) is subjected to a lengthy harassment campaign by the latter. She is suddenly faced with having to protect her reputation in the face of false allegations and fake nudes– despite the fact that all she wants to do is focus on reconciling with another classmate, a high school best friend whom she had previously lost touch with (Mu Qingfeng, played by Wang Laoji). From episode 14 onwards: Childhood friends Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) and Mu Qingfeng (Wang Laoji) are caught in a weird gay purgatory where each has feelings for the other, and suspects that the other has feelings for them too. But both are exceedingly stubborn and want the other one to take the initiative in confessing, leading to ridiculous displays of I-don’t-care-isms and lots and lots of UST. (Does anybody use that term anymore??)

As you may have guessed, I’m not too keen on the first part of this show, nor the decidedly unnecessary attempted rape segment, though that’s partly on me for not checking the content warnings beforehand. And yet I’m very glad to have stuck with it, because the second half is not only hilarious, but also a masterclass in censorship-dodging that needs to be seen to be believed. Not just in terms of the suggestive scenes, of which there are many, either— the story is literally about two women starting a relationship and having to reckon with parental disapproval, homophobia, and other obstacles which platonic friends wouldn’t have to deal with. I honestly don’t know how this ever got approved, and can only applaud. Bravo.

Note: For those who want to avoid the triggering content, I’d recommend starting at episode 14, but make sure to skip episodes 19 and 20 as there is a foiled rape attempt.

(CW for entire series: bullying (incl. violence, fake nudes), sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, fatphobic language, homophobia

CW for episodes 14-24: attempted sexual assault in episodes 19-20, homophobia)

Links - MEGA / Dropbox

SHORT FILMS

Quick note: Click on the English titles for the subtitled versions, and the Chinese titles (which are really just the video titles) for the originals. And yes, although the majority of these are shampoo commercials, they really do hold up as short films in their own right. Give them a try, you might be surprised!

A Tale of Yearning / 一见误终生，不见终生误 (5 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A bittersweet story about a literature-minded young woman (Sheng Wei) and a Chinese opera performer (Ai Ye) who bond over their love of fiction, only to be torn apart by harsh reality. Tragic ending, but I liked the more literary turn of the dialogue. Shampoo ad. (CW: homophobia)

“She Brought Colour Into My World” / “她走后，我的世界又失去了颜色” (2.5 mins, 2023, dir. Zou Hui Qu Le/走回去了) – A very restrained short film (actually, more like a music video) set during the late Qing era, wherein a sheltered young woman (Xiao Yu Za/小宇咂) falls for her female neighbour, recently returned from studying abroad (Sheng Wei). Lovely use of music and visuals to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Tragic ending. Not a shampoo ad.

“I’m Her Weapon” / 我是你手里的一把刀 (3 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A moody, interior piece about an assassin (Ai Ye) who yearns for some sign of affection from her handler (Sheng Wei), only to be left devastated by her new assignment. Surprisingly not a shampoo ad.

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord / 我们是孤独行走的钟，但也要做敲响希望的钟 (6 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – I’d like to describe this as being inspired by the story of Mai Jia’s novel The Message and the aesthetics of Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), but most Tumblr users would probably find those references deeply unhelpful. Basically, a female spy (Sheng Wei) disguises herself as a male soldier and infiltrates the mansion of a Republican warlord. There, she meets the warlord’s daughter (Ai Ye), who quickly realises that there is more to the promising young officer than meets the eye. Shampoo ad.

Women’s Script / 纵使“科考”无女子，无碍红袖书香，星辰有光 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – While sailing down a river, a girl (Zhi Chun He/至春禾) catches sight of a woman writing poetry on the riverbank (Sheng Wei), and is fascinated by both her beauty and her flaunting of the rules against women’s literacy. Shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence)

The Caged Canary / 如果这是一场骗局，那我也只愿意输给你 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – The protagonist (Ai Ye) is sent by her parents to beguile a wealthy young man into marriage, but ends up developing feelings for his modern-woman sister (Sheng Wei) instead. Shampoo ad. (CW: attempted sexual assault)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither / 她们一个被铁链禁锢，一个被男装束缚，直到救赎彼此 (9 mins, 2022, dir. Qian Li Min/千里明) – Takes the romance between a cross-dressing noblewoman (Du Ruo/杜若) and her supposedly-mad stepmother (Rou Lian Cheng/肉脸橙) to tell a story about the restrictions placed on women in historical times, and how resistance, even when futile, can still have meaning. Tragic ending, obviously. Not a shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence, misogyny, accidental misgendering, gender dysphoria)

[accio-victuuri]

wang yibo - exploring the unknown documentary

exploring the unknown is wang yibo’s first outdoor exploration program, created by the international production team of Discovery Channel. This film will also be the only program that Wang Yibo will participate in permanently in 2024.

Wang Yibo will follow six global explorers to six extreme geographical destinations, including snow-capped mountains, deserts, islands, tropical rainforests, etc., to start a two-person outdoor challenge journey and complete the exploration mission.

Accompanied by China's top survival and outdoor experts, Wang Yibo underwent rigorous physical training until he could complete these unique challenges: looking for hard-to-find gibbons in the dense Hainan rainforest, diving in the sea at night to shoot bright fluorescent corals, and living alone in the vast desert... During this journey, Wang Yibo constantly challenges his physical limits to explore the boundaries that his body can reach and explore the essence of life.

[insanityclause]

EXCLUSIVE: One year ago we told you that a second season of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager was quietly being developed under the codename Steelworks.

Now, Deadline can reveal that the BBC and new co-pro partner Amazon have gone big on a supercharged two-season order of the thriller, with Tom Hiddleston returning to lead, Hugh Laurie coming back as EP and with a new director in I Hate Suzie’s Georgi Banks-Davies. A third season has also been greenlit. David Farr returns as writer and Stephen Garrett is showrunner.

The Night Manager Season 2 will begin filming later this year and will pick up with Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine eight years after the explosive finale of Season 1, going beyond the original book, which was written by the celebrated British writer in 1993. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps and there is not yet confirmation as to whether EP Laurie’s Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by arms buyers who were not best pleased with him, will return to star. Hiddleston will also EP and will discuss in more depth on tonight’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Produced by The Ink Factory in association with Character 7, Demarest Films and 127 Wall, and in co-production with Spanish partner Nostromo Pictures, The Night Manager Season 2 was sold to Amazon by Fifth Season. The first was co-produced with AMC.

New director Banks-Davies, a BAFTA-nominee who takes over from Susanne Bier, has credits including I Hate Suzie, Garfield and upcoming Netflix series Kaos.

The Night Manager Season 1 was a huge success, watched by millions and winning multiple BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes including best actor for Hiddleston. Also starring Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki, it followed Pine – who ran a luxury hotel in Cairo – as he attempted to infiltrate the inner circle of Roper’s crime syndicate after being hired by Foreign Office task force manager Angela Burr.

The first season was commissioned more than 10 years ago and the show has since been remade in India, lapping the UK version by swiftly having a Season 2 greenlit for Disney+ Hotstar in May last year.

Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré’s sons who run The Ink Factory, said Season 1 proved “a landmark moment for the golden era of television – uniting on-screen and behind-the-camera talent at the top of their game – and an audience reception which was beyond our wildest imagining.”

They added: “Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré’s original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible.”

Amazon MGM Studios Head of Television Vernon Sanders said: “We are elated to bring additional seasons of The Night Manager to our Prime Video customers. The combination of terrific source material, the wonderful team at The Ink Factory, a great writer in David Farr, an award-winning director in Georgi Banks-Davies, as well as the talented cast truly make the series the full package.”

Hiddleston said: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.”

BBC content boss Charlotte Moore added: “After years of fervent speculation I’m incredibly excited to confirm that The Night Manager is returning to the BBC for two more series.”

The Night Manager series two is created and executive produced by Farr, based on the characters created by le Carré. Additional executive producers include Garrett for Character 7, Banks-Davies, Laurie and Hiddleston; Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall; Stephen and Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff, and Tessa Inkelaar for The Ink Factory; Adrián Guerra for Nostromo Pictures; William D. Johnson for Demarest Films, Nick Cornwell, Susanne Bier, Chris Rice for Fifth Season and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC.

[shijiujun]

WHY YOU CAN TRY WATCHING YUAN ZUI 原罪 Original Sin (2024)

Okay I've watched up to 20 episodes (out of 25 I think) and can say that this is a mild, low-level rec — just for people who MIGHT be interested in it, and don't have too much expectations on script etc. Off the cuff, it's very SCI-esque production but with slightly worse lines and acting (I'll explain later) BUT the filming visuals aren't bad, main characters are cute, and the cases objectively are pretty okay. My two cents is - if you're bored and looking to just pass the time, you could watch this, but if not, you won't be losing out on much either, but it's worth a try.

IN GENERAL

It passes as a detective drama - to be very fair, they've really tried their best to do a detective drama properly with the hints, the process, the autopsies, the high management police relations, some spy work, some vulnerabilities, some teamwork, some misunderstandings and arguments, some backstory and some PTSD < they've got all the makings of a good show, plus Wang Haoxuan and Chen Huan the two main leads are nice to look at, and their acting is passable.

Clunky script, lines and acting - Personally I think a lot of the lines were not necessary, and because you stuff like a scene out of place, there's like a lot of unnecessary emotion at strange places you wouldn't expect logically LOL. Some of the clues are also a bit ??? I mean I watch with a lot of suspension of disbelief trust me, but I found myself LOL-ing with a cringe at some places. A little overboard in acting also for the PTSD or like the cases that really affect the two male leads, like you can feel it's a tad over the top in terms of trying to get a feel for the scene, but I mean, like I said, low expectations.

If they had a better production and more episodes, I think this might have turned out to be 100% better. It's a hardcore detective drama, so much so that technically some character development scenes would have done it well but they're like almost overly focused on the detective parts of it and like relationships are all for show, but we'll make do.

SUMMARY

Dai Yu (played by Wang Haoxuan), a medical examiner, works closely with Zheng Ming (played by Chen Huan), a police squad captain to solve five cases (5 episodes per case) — they've known each other for a long time, as Zheng Ming's mentor is Dai Yu's dad, and their relationship goes way back. Between them is the death of Dai Yu's father, who was shot right in front of Dai Yu, and the death of Zheng Ming's best friend Hai Shan, who was exposed for his undercover role and shot to death by Zheng Ming by accident during a hostage situation. This results in Zheng Ming being unable to shoot a person after, afraid that he would miss his shot like he did. As they work through several cases, they unravel secrets of what happened in the years after these two deaths.

Total 25 episodes

Playing on iQIYI, but don't know if there are subs since it's so obscure as a production there's barely any promo of it online

BROTHERHOOD (AHEM)

Truly a brotherhood like as if they're allergic to bromance BUT there are really like split seconds where you have to do a double take OKAY! They're kind of close because Dai Yu's dad was Zheng Ming's mentor, but Dai Yu himself took a while to warm up to Zheng Ming and Zheng Ming is kinda hot-headed, and misunderstands people really quickly. The both of them switch between being real familiar with each other to super professional like SUPER professional.

EP. 1: Zheng Ming sends Dai Yu back but Dai Yu has fallen asleep in the car so he literally removes the seatbelt for Dai Yu and then they just fall asleep in the car like that.

EP. 6+7: Dai Yu has his own house but when he sleeps over at the police housing he rooms with Zheng Ming, and Zheng Ming always nags at him for sleeping with his shoes on. And always buys him breakfast. And when Dai Yu once again falls asleep while talking to Zheng Ming without taking his shoes off, Zheng Ming takes it off for him and is all like "There you go again, sleeping with your shoes on."

EP. 15: After having a cold war with each other for like 3 episodes, Dai Yu tags along on a bust without permission and nearly gets knifed and Zheng Ming is pissed off as fuck going like: "What if that blade really hit the mark?! If it was a gun, you'd also step right in front of it?!" and then he walks off and then Dai Yu says, "If it was you (in danger), I definitely would stand right in front of the gun."

There are a lot of other moments, but it's always just RIGHT when you think it could be a bromance moment NOPE they make it so professional I'm like BRUH!!!

But otherwise for me personally, who's a low-maintenance viewer, this hits the spot and I'd keep watching!! Edit: Just finished watching the whole thing and ARGH wow talk about the most abrupt cold-feeling ending ever LMAO?!!?!

[rainbowsky]

DD's tennis racket is a custom L.23 with his name printed on the side.

When he was shooting the Lacoste ad the brand's team was very happy with him and pleased with his athleticism and tennis playing.

The behind-the-scenes story of Wang Yibo’s shooting of Lacoste’s official promotional materials:

It took 3 hours to shoot and 5 hours to produce the film. It was an extreme production, thanks to the efficient operation of the team and the very precise cooperation of the artists 🥳

"Yibo is really cooperative 👍🏻 and his tennis moves are of a good standard. It can be seen that he has practiced carefully. Because we are on a tight schedule on the set, we basically use direct cue moves, and Yibo can catch them. He also studied seriously with the coach before filming. Running and hitting is actually a lot of exercise. I can feel that Yibo is hitting the ball seriously, and he is a little out of breath at the end, haha."

[chalkzoneoutofcontext]

“Now that I’m a man, I’ve got facial hair!’

[outofcontext101dalmatians]

[p-h03n1-x]

Shu Uemura Weibo update 8.25.2024

The same products as Wang Yibo: The secret to staying flawless despite stage sweat

"Little Square Bottle" Foundation: 18-hour wear, no dullness

"Little Black Brick" Setting Powder: Light as silk, all-day soft matte finish

"Little Black Spray" Setting Spray: 24-hour setting without film, sweat-proof

This summer, the Shu Uemura professional base makeup range keeps you flawless through sweat!

[yibo-best]

“Exploring the unknown” is Wang Yibo’s first outdoor exploration documentary program. It is produced by the Discovery Channel’s international production team. This film will also be the only program Wang Yibo will participate in in 2024 (on an ongoing basis) .

Wang Yibo will follow six explorers around the world to six extreme geographic locations, including snowy mountains, deserts, islands, and tropical forests.

PS The project is rumored to be aired from August 31 (They say they'll be looking for gibbons in the jungle and diving into the night sea for phosphorescent corals… I can't wait)

UPD Announcement and trailer on August 23, VIP on Tencent from August 31 (at 18-00). Press conference with Yibo in theaters on August 28

[poomphuripan]

Professional Body Double // My Stand In - a Masterpost

Series Title: My Stand-In (ตัวนาย ตัวแทน)

Director: Pepzi Banchorn Vorasataree (KinnPorsche The Series)

Action Director: Khom Kongkiat Khomsiri (KinnPorsche The Series)

Producer: Yuan Wan Thabkrajang (I Feel You Linger In The Air)

Executive Producer: Poppy Parnsuk Thongrob

Episodes: 12

Aired: Apr 26, 2024 - Jul 12, 2024. Every Friday 8.00 PM.

Original Network: iQIYI

Original Novel Title: Professional Body Double (职业替身)

Author: Shui Qian Cheng (水千丞)

Genres: Adult, Drama, Mature, Romance, Supernatural, Tragedy, Showbiz, Angst

Content warnings: Abusive lover, noncon, house arrest

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Official Synopsis

Joe, the stunt man of famous actor Tong, happened to meet Ming. Having developed a deep relationship, Joe didn’t realise that Ming had always seen him as Tong’s replacement. When the truth is revealed, Joe has to take work on a foreign set where an accident takes his life. When he wakes, Joe’s in the body of a young man named Joe who’d met with an accident on the same day. With help, he’s soon living the same life as he was before—with the same people—and he meets Ming once more. In this life, Ming wants Joe back at his side as before and Joe doesn’t know why. Ming, who’s kept all memories of the old Joe, tries to find the truth about Joe’s continued life in order to return Joe to his side and give him the explanation he never had the chance to.

Main characters

Joe (Zhou Xiang/周翔)

Height: 181 cm

Birthday: October 20

Age: 29

Zodiac: Libra

Occupation: Actor, Stuntman, Martial Arts Body Double, Martial Arts Instructor

Personality: Gentle and generous, optimistic and open-hearted, mature and considerate. Independent. Easy going, not very ambitious, caring towards people around him. His parents and sibling passed away when he was 8 years old.

Ming (Yan MingXiu/晏明修)

Height: 188 cm

Birthday: September 6

Age: 24

Zodiac: Virgo

Occupation: Actor, President of a Mechanized Heavy Industry Company

Personality: Haughty, selfish, lacking in patience, stubborn and persistent towards things he has decided upon. Extremely attractive, cold, indifferent. Youngest of the three Yan siblings. Comes from a wealthy, prestigious family with millitary background.

Supporting characters

Sol (Lan Xi Rong): Young attractive popular actor who was once close to Joe. Sol likes Joe. Played by Porsche Tanathorn.

Tong (Wang Yu Dong): A popular action movie star. Tong is Ming’s crush. Tong is dating Ming's sister, May. Tong eventually marries May and becomes Ming's brother-in-law. Played by Mek Jirakit.

Wut (Paradorn Vesurai): Joe's brother-like close friend, who's also his boss.

Jim (Jiang Yuan): Ming's personal secretary and right hand man. Played by Billy Possathorn.

Mike (Yan Mingsu): Ming’s older brother. Played by Inntouch Naphat.

May (Yan Ming Mei): Ming’s older sister. May eventually becomes Tong's wife later on. Played by Shu Nunnicha.

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Where to read the novel

Chinese raw

English translation

Indonesian translation

Vietnamese translation

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Where to listen to the audio drama adaptation

Season 1

Season 2

Season 1 & 2 on YT with Vietnamese subtitles (Note: OP gonna private this video once the series has finished filming, so if anyone wishes to grab a copy/listen to it, now's the time 🤗)

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Production

Director Pepzi and Executive Producer Yuan first posted a photo captioned "Our new series project" hashtagging the Chinese novel title on 16 February 2023 so pre-production starts around February 2023. Yuan tweeted that My Stand In is the series that took longest to cast (8 months). 6 October 2023 was the fitting for My Stand In. Production begins filming on 16 October 2023.

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For latest updates on My Stand In series, you can follow YYDS Entertainment on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, IG, Tiktok.

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Source

[guzhufuren]

New uncensored wuxia bl drama Meet You At The Blossom

Adapted from the chinese danmei novel "Hua Kai You Shi, Tui Mi Wu Sheng" or "Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow" by Shui Qian Cheng. The show consists of 12 episodes, each with a duration of 40 minutes. Expected to air in the 2 or 3 quarter of 2024.

Synopsis: "The son of the wealthiest man along the Jiangnan region falls in love with an icy white-clothed “beauty” due to an unexpected meeting, but the true identity of this “beauty” is actually…"

Production company Big Superstar (Thailand)

Director Chen Yiyu (Taiwan) who also directed HIStory4 and HIStory5

Producer Qi Li (China)

Actors Li Le, Wang Yunkai, Li Junliang (all from China), Achi (from Thailand)

Filmed in Hengdian, China

Stylist team from mainland China